The University of New Brunswick has always been much more than an institution of higher education for Doug (BScCE’74, MScCE’79) and Anne Johnson. Since they first met on the Fredericton campus 50 years ago, UNB has been instrumental in shaping their lives, their careers, their world view and their legacy.
For this long-married couple, UNB is something of a love story.
The Doug and Anne Johnson Transportation Scholarship for graduate students in civil engineering, focused on transportation, is a $1,000 award given annually to students from New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia, or Newfoundland and Labrador — the provinces with ties to the Johnson family. It is based on a $25,000 bequest from Doug and Anne to help students get the most out of their time at UNB.
Doug and Anne met at UNB in 1974 when he was a graduate engineering student in the newly formed transportation group, and she was the administrative assistant for the group’s principal founder — Dr. Frank Wilson.
Anne caught Doug’s eye right away.
“I used to go into her office a lot to see if I could use the phone and it was really just a way to get into her office to see her,” he says with a laugh. “That was the start of our life together. We got married in 1977, but we really consider 1974 the beginning of our story. We have been hanging out together now for 50 years.”
Doug and Anne have kept in touch with most of the graduates from the Class of ’74. There is a reunion in Fredericton every five years with their colleagues, many of whom went on to become CEOs and leaders in engineering and design across North America.
Thirty-nine of the graduates are still living, Doug says, and 22 of them were able to make it to the 50th reunion this year.
“They are like family to me,” Doug says. “They are like my brothers.”
Doug worked in the New Brunswick Department of Transportation for years. Among other things, he was project manager of the Fredericton-Moncton Highway Project, the largest transportation construction project in New Brunswick history. Doug was assistant deputy minister in transportation from 2001 until his retirement in 2010.
Doug says he and Anne created the scholarship to give back to an institution that has meant so much to them. The couple also has decided to donate a bench to UNB to be placed by the old engineering building, engraved with the words Rest, Reflect, Remember.
“We wanted to create the scholarship because we went to UNB, we enjoyed it, and it helped us with our lives and our work. Our hope is this will help students get as much out of their time at UNB as we did.”
